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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27395761">a thousand miles down to the sea bed i found a place to rest my head</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thereisasong18/pseuds/thereisasong18'>thereisasong18</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender, Avatar: The Rise of Kyoshi, Avatar: The Shadow of Kyoshi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, F/F, Gen, I just love them, Mostly Fluff, Plot? What is plot?, but what do i write that isn't, little angsty</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:27:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,289</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27395761</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thereisasong18/pseuds/thereisasong18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kyoshi isn't all that sad that Rangi lost her topknot. Rangi thinks she lost her honor but Kyoshi is there to remind her hair isn't everything, folks.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kyoshi/Rangi (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>100</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>a thousand miles down to the sea bed i found a place to rest my head</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I don't know, I just had the idea of Kyoshi not at all annoyed about Rangi losing her hair; the book mentioned it a little but I wanted more than just a few sentences. No plot to speak of. </p><p>Title from Never Let Me Go by Florence and the Machine, as usual. </p><p>And once again beta'd by the incredible hegaveallhecouldgiveher over on Tumblr!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kyoshi woke. For an instant, she was back in her old room, back in the mansion in Yokoya. For that brief moment, she was bowled over with memories of a happier time, living her simple life as a servant girl, no worries greater than making sure Yun didn’t break any of his Avatar gifts. Having her two best friends. Having her father figure. She shut her eyes, blocking out the visions. She wasn’t in Yokoya. She was in Quinchao, and it had been two days since she had faced down Jianzhu, two days since Yun had returned, two days since her friends had freed Rangi from Jianzhu’s mansion. She hadn’t recovered. She had spent so much time fortifying her mind and body to destroy Jianzhu, and then to have that right stripped away at the last minute by her friend, who she had thought was gone forever, had been devastating. She still didn’t know how Yun had come back, and what scared her the most was the way he had acted. So cold and menacing, so unlike the happy boy she had worked for, and had loved.</p><p>She shook her head. That was a problem for another day. From the minute she had watched Rangi be taken by Jianzhu’s men to the moment she had met the Flying Opera Company after their successful rescue, her focus had been on Rangi, who had barely left her mother’s side since they had retrieved her from the compound. Rangi had wanted to leave for the North Pole immediately, desperate to get her mother to the healers in the Northern Water Tribe, but Hei Ran was too weak to be moved without immediate assistance. So, Kirima had taken her limited healing knowledge and poured it into Hei Ran, working tirelessly to stabilize her and get her strong enough to travel. Though the circumstances weren’t ideal, Kyoshi was grateful for the extra time she had been granted to spend with Rangi, which had been mostly at Hei Ran’s bedside. Kyoshi had been right there with her, lending solid and steady support to Rangi as she watched her mother heal.</p><p>Kyoshi stretched, wincing at the pain in her side, a holdover from her effort to keep the teahouse from collapsing. Just as she was steeling herself to fully get up, the door creaked open. Rangi stood in the doorway, her glowing girl’s outline literally glowing in the light streaming into the room. Kyoshi pulled herself to a sitting position, but Rangi didn’t stay still for very long, walking quickly over to Kyoshi’s bed. She climbed up and burrowed herself into Kyoshi’s side, resting her newly shorn head in the crook of Kyoshi’s neck and shoulder. Kyoshi felt her quick, harsh breaths, hot from her Firebender’s inner flame, against her neck.</p><p>She tentatively reached out and stroked the top of Rangi’s head. She’d never been able to do it before, with the Firebender’s topknot in the way. But now, since Jianzhu had shamed her, there were no pins and nothing to stop her from finally being able to lay her head on top of Rangi’s, which she now did. Rangi’s breaths slowed, and she began to hum contentedly. Kyoshi smiled, humming with her Firebender. She had never felt like she belonged much of anywhere, in Yokoya or even in her role as an Avatar, but here, now, holding Rangi, she felt whole. She felt home.</p><p>“Rangi?” She broke off her level hum. “How is Hei Ran today?”</p><p>Rangi lifted her head away from Kyoshi’s. “She’s looking better. Even said a few words, though not very intelligible. Kirima thinks she’s strong enough that we can leave tomorrow.” Her voice sounded strained, the toll that her mother’s health had taken on her evident in her words.</p><p>Kyoshi continued to stroke her head, calming motions, trying to pour the love and comfort she felt into her Firebender’s body. “It will be alright. You’ll get her to the North Pole, and the healers will help. She’ll be back on her feet in no time.”</p><p>“I know.”</p><p>Kyoshi kept stroking Rangi’s head. She loved being able to and wanted Rangi to know it.</p><p>“Rangi? No pins means I can do this whenever I want.”</p><p>“Mhmm.” Her Firebender stretched, pushing back against Kyoshi’s body. “It also means I currently have no dignity or honor, so enjoy it while it lasts.” A note of sadness crept into her voice. “I’m ashamed to be seen this way, even by you.”</p><p>Kyoshi’s heart sank. She never had understood the amount of pride Firebenders placed in their topknots. To her, Rangi never needed any sort of special marker to be the most honorable person Kyoshi knew. It was time to tell her that. She inched herself down the bed until she was facing Rangi at eyelevel. She wrapped her arm around Rangi’s body, drawing her closer to drive home her next words. “Rangi. I know of no one in the world with as much honor as you. Your hair has never been an indicator to me of your honor. It’s you. You keep me on the right track as an Avatar. You have from the start. I’ve never needed a topknot to see that.”</p><p>Rangi gave a wry smile. “I wish it worked like that. I’ve lost whatever respect I had in the Fire Nation. He took all that away from me. But Kyoshi…you mean more to me than what I’ve lost.” Her face relaxed slightly. “I know I’ve tried to keep your honor intact. You don’t make it very easy for me.” She reached out to touch Kyoshi’s face. “Thank you, Kyoshi. My nation would see me as something almost less than human right now. Our topknots are as good as sacred. To have you say that…to have you not care… it means more than you know.”</p><p>Kyoshi carefully pressed a kiss to the crown of Rangi’s head, right where her topknot used to be. “I know how much your hair means to you and your nation. How closely it’s linked to your honor. But for what it’s worth – you lost your hair doing one of the most honorable things you could possibly have been doing. You were captured because you were with me- watching over me. You’re my sworn bodyguard, and you were fulfilling your duties. Both as my bodyguard-“ She broke off, adding extra emphasis to her next words – “And as my life partner.”</p><p>Rangi smiled, a real smile that sent a wave of relief washing over Kyoshi. She wrapped her arms around Rangi, pulling her close enough that the Firebender’s inner flame enveloped them both. She never wanted to let go. She pulled back slightly, enough to see Rangi’s face. “I mean it, Rangi. I’ll never need your topknot to know that you’re the most honorable person I could have in my life. You teach me how to be better. I love you, Rangi.”</p><p>Rangi nudged her face into Kyoshi’s palm, looking up at her with as much love as Kyoshi felt for her. “I love you too. Thank you, Kyoshi.” She smirked slightly. “But I don’t care how much you love my hair right now. I’ll have my topknot back in no time.”</p><p>Kyoshi pouted. “Fine. Then I better take advantage of it as long as I can, hm?“ She mussed up Rangi’s hair, ignoring her outraged yelp. She settled back against her pillows, Rangi grudgingly settling with her, throwing an arm across her chest and burrowing into Kyoshi’s side again. Kyoshi smiled. She had never had a home before, at least not one that counted. One that she loved, and where she felt loved in return. But here, with Rangi, she finally had one. She was finally home.</p>
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